VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh has witnessed a 21 per cent surplus rainfall in the South West Monsoon that ended on September 30. The State had received 629.2 mm of rainfall as against the normal rainfall of 521.6 mm during the monsoon. It may be noted that the State had received 13 per cent deficit rainfall in the previous year.
Among the districts, Guntur received the highest surplus rainfall during the South West Monsoon this year. The district recorded 58 per cent surplus rainfall – 939.4 mm, as against the normal of 594.9 mm.
As predicted by the IMD, the State received above average rainfall after the timely arrival of the South West Monsoon. However, in September the State witnessed heavy rainfall, leading to deluge in Vijayawada and Kakinada district that sent normal life into disarray for more than 10 days.
This was In contrast to the previous year when the month of August became the driest and warmest month, with the highest number of dry spell days in the recorded history of the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) since 1901.
Out of 26 districts in the State, 17 districts recorded excess rainfall, while the remaining 9 districts recorded normal rainfall. After Guntur, the highest surplus rainfall was reported at the Anakapalle district in North Coastal Andhra Pradesh. It recorded 54 per cent surplus rainfall. As against the normal rainfall of 648.5 mm, the district recorded 996.7 mm.
Anakapalle was followed by Visakhapatnam, West Godavari, Eluru, NTR Sri Satya Sai, Nandyal and Anantapur districts.
On the other hand, the lowest surplus rainfall was reported in YSR district. Chittoor, Annamaya, and Nellore recorded less than 10 per cent excess rainfall. However, on a positive note, there were no districts with deficit rainfall. Anantapur district, which had registered the highest deficit rainfall of 34 per cent in the last year, registered a 34 per cent surplus this monsoon.